planning stages

who: caleb and math
where: mexico
when: late afternoon

Caleb was leaned against the warehouse wall, peering out the grimey, cracked window at the open flat field behind it. There were a few random bits of dead machinery out there, and Caleb vaguely wondered what this place had been before it was 'shady lot where drug deals and likely various homicides occur'. The train tracks were across the way there, across that open field, and Caleb was thinking that would be a good place for him to be. Nice and not in close to anything. He listened to the ringing in his ear as he mentally assessed the structure he was inside, too, thinking it wasn't the most structurally sound shitty warehouse in the world.

Dean reached for the phone as it started to ring, telling Andy - who he was chatting with on AIM - that he'd be right back. He checked the caller ID and smiled a little - well, the guy said he'd ring. Dean was glad that he'd kept to that. "How's it going?" he asked as he picked up.

"I don't know, I'm in a warehouse that I'm kind of sure if I checked around a little more thoroughly that I'd find at least three dead mexican winos under various bits of debris, and I'm waiting for my brother to show back up so we can talk tactics for getting our other brother out of shit with what might be considered demonic mafia. How're you?" Caleb said in return, bouncing his leg a little as he continued to stare out that window, trying to judge how far out it went, and how much space he'd have exactly. It would be nice if he could be out there, attracting attention, but then again, sniper rounds to the back of the head weren't good for him. In that fatal sort of manner he wasn't interested in.

Dean turned back to the computer and added a note to his best friend back in England that this might take some time, then got up and headed to lie out on the bed, relaxing. "Demonic mafia? That sounds bad - you lot going to be okay?" he asked, sounding concerned and not at all answering Caleb's question.

"Eh. I don't know. Apparently when Lockwoods fuck up we don't do it half assed." Caleb commented. "Figured I'd call just in case things go remarkably sideways tomorrow. In theory we'll be alright. If nothing else, it'll probably be a hell of a good fight, anyways. What's going on in Marquette? Anything fun and exciting?" he asked. Since Dean hadn't answered his question, he figured he'd get around to it eventually and went for a slightly different track.

"You sound fairly relaxed about that," Dean pointed out, but he reminded himself that of all the people he knew, he'd always thought that Caleb was the one most able to handle himself. "You just take care, yeah? Don't do anything stupid like getting yourself killed. I fucking hate funerals," he added, trying to make light of that. He knew he didn't handle death particularly well - it wasn't something he really wanted to ever find he did handle well, or got used to, or anything like that. Even if when it was her, she'd come back. Death was still death. "And things round here are... Quieter, I guess. Passed my drivigin test." He paused for a moment, then added in a slightly quieter voice, trying to sound nonchalant about it. "Thia moved out."

"Well, I guess I could try panicking, but it wouldn't really be my style. Too much work and it never helps. Besides. Panicking usually implies fear. I'm not really scared. Concerned, maybe, I'd rather if we didn't get ourselves killed, but whatever. It'll go how it goes. I'll attempt not to get myself murdered, it won't help my brother out if I do, and I figure they'd both be pissed about it. Though really, you wouldn't have to attend a funeral, I'm pretty sure if I buy it here, I'm going to be in a shallow, unmarked grave somewhere." Caleb said, starting to walk around the inside of the warehouse, looking for weak points. Like that bit over there in the corner where the metal was entirely rusted out, and he could see parking lot light streaming in. "Good for quiet, are you getting use out of my car and---wait, what? She moved out?" he said, latching onto that. Which really, he figured he should. He knew how bad Dean had it for the girl, and that seemed...random. Where the hell would she even go? She was dead for fucks sake.

"Yeah - same day you left town. Billy asked her to move in with him and Maddie? The other person you got IDs for? Apparently Maddie's having some issues coping and they asked her to go live with them for a while to help out and stuff," Dean told him, still trying to keep that same tone, though that bloody house still bothered him. He'd been over to Billy and Maddie's new place twice now and both times it'd felt wrong, even if Maddie had investigated and couldn't find a cause for it. He didn't like leaving her there and he'd had just as hard a time leaving yesterday as he had on Monday when he'd first gone to look at the place.

"That blows." Caleb assessed. "How are you dealing with that?" he asked, really not buying Dean's tone. "For that matter, how is she?" he asked curiously. He almost asked if they had decided to run away together or anything yet, but managed to hold his tongue. Dean did get ever so defensive over that girl.

"She's... See, the thing is it would have been fine," Dean told him, shuffling down a little and bunching pillows up behind his head. "But then there was this whole thing with the house. Apparently, Sophie and Oz decided that... No idea what order or anything, but here's the rundown. Our house is trashed, so we're now living at Billy's place while our house is redone and made livable again. Meanwhile, Sophie and Oz bought Billy and Maddie this new house - bigger place - and they've moved over there. 'Cept that house is fucking weird. i mean, seriously weird. Everyone loves it in like this strange Stepford type way, except for me and Thia and it just gives us the willies, fucking creeps, seriously. Except - she won't leave. I don't think she should be there in the weird house that makes her feel uncomfortable, but she won't tell Billy and Maddie that she doesn't want to be there. But - I don't like it, mate. I really, really don't."

Caleb paused and headed outside, checking around that as he walked the perimeter. He also tried to keep up with what Dean was going on about, and really came to the conclusion that it was all far too convoluted. Well at least he got the point at the end spelled out for him. "Why won't she tell them she doesn't want to be there? And generally speaking? If shit doesn't feel right in a creepy sort of manner, that isn't a good thing. In fact, I would probably class that as 'bad'." he put in. Which, after he said it, he wondered again if this was one of those times where he should have kept that to himself.

"Because she feels obliged," Dean explained, sounding very much like he didn't get it either. "Because they asked her to do this and she thinks that means she has to - like she owes them something, or something. Or like she'd be offending someone or being rude or something if she turned round and said that she wouldn't. Because apparently she's needed there or something. I dunno - I don't think that's a good enough reason to stay somewhere that you really don't feel at all comfortable in. Like so uncomfortable you can't sleep at night." He'd gone round there earlier today and she looked like she hadn't got a wink. And he knew she didn't sleep a lot anymore anyway, but what seemed to amount to zero wasn't good. "She's promised that if it gets really bad she'll leave, but..." He didn't sound hopeful at all that she'd do that. In fact, he knew she wouldn't. He'd watch the girl literally sacrifice herself, after all. He knew the limits, was aware of what she'd put herelf through. She wasn't going to be turning up on his doortep any time soon.

Caleb listened to the mini-rant, and couldn't quite figure out why she'd do something like that either. "...if she won't say shit to them why don't you?" he suggested. "Or bring up that you're worried about her being there since the place makes her feel like shit. I'd probably be trying to figure out what the fuck it is though. Not that I have suggestions or anything. Dorian probably would, but y'know, he's busy with that aforementioned demonic mafia bullshit. But I could ask him when the dust settles." he offered. "And you don't sound terribly convinced she'd be smart enough to leave on her own." he added, filling in that blank.

"I already have," Dean told him. "They're 'looking into it'. But if she won't leave, I'm... I don't want to manipulate a situation where they kick her out or anything. And - could you imagine a situation where, having had her tell me she's not leaving, I go to Billy and Maddie and say I want to take her away until this gets sorted? I'm not sure she'd forgive me for that. And it's got nothing to do with smarts, it's just... Self-worth, maybe? She kinda puts everyone else before her. Like, Maddie needs her help and therefore what she has to go through to be there and do that? Not important," Dean explained, sounding generally frustrated.

"Yeah, wow, terrible sin there, looking out for her best interests when she won't." Caleb said, sarcasm of course dripping from his tone. "I'm pretty sure she'd get over it. But your call. If it's a self worth issue as opposed to an intelligence thing, then it's probably an even worse situation." Caleb added, not trying to be unhelpful there, but it was the truth. "Martyrs are a bitch to deal with. And means they're stubborn and all that shit. Manipulation might be your best bet after all."

"Sorry if manipulation isn't something I'm really very comfortable with," Dean told him, but he moved on straight away in a much more conversational tone. "Of course, it doesn't help that we're now living in a shitty little two bed, so it's not like I could even go in there with options. Though, having spent two nights in the next room to my cousin and her boyfriend? I'm currently investigating the viability of turning the cellar into a bedroom. Seriously - I have bloody good hearing, I don't need to listen to that. And Thi's deaf..."

"Just sayin." Caleb said to the first bit, then listened to the rest. "You'd pass up the opportunity to share a room with her? When you would even have a perfectly valid excuse? Damn. Though my sympathies on the whole being too up close and personal with your cousin and shit. That's...got to be disturbing on levels I don't especially want to think about too much." At least Math got laid someplace else that wasn't the next room back in Marquette.

Dean chuckled a little at that. "Seriously? I don't think I'd survive sharing a room with her - valid or not. And anyway, it always means I have to set my alarm extra early and drag my arse out of bed before she wakes up and I'm far too lazy to do that long term," he joked.

"Anyone ever tell you you're far too much of a fucking boyscout for your own good?" Caleb asked, laughing a touch as well. "Seriously. Be less virtuous. It'll be good for you." he added. He paused and eyed some of the lights in the parking lot that was nearest the warehouse, and wondered if taking out a few of the bulbs might not be good for them.

"Hey, I've been teaching the girl to fight lately - I don't want those new found skills turned on me, okay? I'll... be less virtuous with some girl that maybe shows the slightest sign of being at all interested in me being less virtuous at her and Thia'll... Just keep driving me crazy," he concluded.

"Yeah but you could at the very least put yourself into a position where she might take advantage of you. You never know." Caleb said. "Though I agree that she'll probably keep driving you crazy. Or you could get a life and go find girls with less morals going for them at parties." he suggested. He was still just a bit on the anti-dating-ever-again track. Just a little.

"She could take advantage of me," Dean told him. "God, hell, really - I would love it if she would take advantage of me. I mean... Seriously, but she's had the opportunity. Plenty of opportunity. She holds my hand, we hug, she spends half the bloody time sitting on my lap, for fuck's sake! if she had any inclination at all to take advantage, really, the opportunity's there. She just... hasn't. Conclusion: She's. Not. Interested. I'm resigned - I'm in the friend's zone. That's all there is to it. And yeah, I'm going with the girls at partiees thing - I just need to get over being a total fucking idiot around them."

"...she spends half the time sitting in your lap and you don't--" Caleb started, sounding incredulous. "It's official. I do not understand the two of you. At all. Generally when girls start taking up residence in your lap, that tends to mean something. But sure! Whatever you say, man." he said, shaking his head. "You two are fucked. So...yeah. Excellent. Girls at parties. Just say as little as possible and pretend you're listening intently to anything they have to say. You'll probably get at least one chick who'll take you off someplace private for a while doing that."

"Caleb - she was like that when she had a boyfriend," Dean told him, patiently. "Hell, she was huggy in front of her boyfriend - which, may I say, was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my entire life. Having her hug me and Joshua glaring daggers at me from behind her. Swear mate - if looks could kill... It's not me, it's not 'us'. It's her - that's just... How she is. And if I try and point out that maybe that's not exactly normal, she gets this look on her face and..." He trailed off with a shrug Caleb wouldn't be able to see, but it lingered in his silent tone.

Caleb didn't say what came to mind which was if she was going to be like that, and it drove Dean that crazy, maybe he should sort of start cutting the cord with the girl. Back away, sort of just go off and do his own thing, just to save on sanity. He figured Dean would not be appreciative of that sort of talk. Soooo he just kept that right the hell to himself. "Not sure what to tell you there." he wound up saying, even if he most certainly did. "So, in light of not having any advice on that, besides that already given, want to hear something fucked up?"

"More fucked up?" Dean asked him, glad to get off the subject of Thia. Caleb just didn't get it and Dean wasn't convinced his friend would ever really get it and would probably continue to try and talk him into asking the girl out. But, whatever - Dean got to talk openly about Thia, so he'd put up with that.

"Yeah, which I know, difficult to contemplate, but yes." Caleb said, going to sit on the trunk of the nearest car, waiting for his brother to show again. Yeah, taking out a few of the streetlights would give them an area that they could know better than what was coming after them. "So Math and I were driving down to Mexico, and stopped for something to eat. Small little bullshit town off the freeway, and we drive in, and...no one was there. No animals, no people, just a bunch of cars looking like they were trying to get the fuck out of dodge, but no drivers. No signs of violence, nothing. It was fucking creepy."

Dean frowned and sat up a little more. "Nothing at all?" he asked, wanting to believe that that was an exaggeration, but Caleb wasn't really prone to those and anyway, with what he'd seen lately, what he was willing to believe was really expanding.

"Not a fucking thing. We wound up looking a little through town, but there weren't even pets around. No birds, no people, no actual signs of struggle. About all there was was the occasional open door, and cars at both ends of town. Weirdly, the lines of cars didn't make it so much as an inch past the 'welcome to' and 'you're now leaving' signs in and out of town." Caleb explained. "Actually, I'd be interested to know if there was anything on the news about it. The town's name was Big Cabin."

Dean laughed loudly at that, despite the subject matter, and it took a moment for him to get that under control. "Seriously? Sorry mate, but seriously? There's honestly a place called 'Big Cabin'? You're not yanking my chain here?"

Caleb flashed a grin. "Yeah, actually. Seriously, if you look at some of the bullshit town names in this country..." he trailed off. "I think we even saw a sign advertising some town named 'Disney'. But yes. Big fucking Cabin. Look it up. It's in...what. Fuckin Oklahoma or something. Around there. After a while of driving straight through the states blurred together into one big mess of hokey."

Dean still sounded incredibly amused as he spoke again, not quite able to get over that. "Well, shit - okay. I think you'll've gathered from that that it didn't make the news. Not that I saw anyway, though, really? Not been watching the news that much lately," Dean admitted, wondering if he should actually correct that one from now on.

"Well, it could be called Hell. There's a Hell, Michigan, you know. Weirdly enough, it's not anywhere near Marquette. But whatever, fucker. Look it up, see if there's anything said about it online. It was all creepy with the mass-disappearance bullshit going on, like that ghost ship. I'm willing to be there isn't shit anywhere on it, which would mean yet more fucked up bullshit is going on. A whole town doesn't disappear for no reason and no one hears about it." Caleb said. But he had to admit that he had been scanning the radio station before they hit the border and everything was in spanish, and there hadn't been shit on there. He didn't expect Dean to find anything either. He just had more time to look into it and less fighting for his life to do. ...well. Today, anyways.

"Fine, fine," Dean said, heaving himself up off the bed and walking over to his computer, propping the phone between his shoulder and his chin as he brought google up and typed in 'Big Cabin disappearance'. "Okay - so! you don't want to know the shitty results I just got on a google search. First five are literally about a large cabin that got nicked. Ice fishing or some crap by the looks of it, who knows," he said, scrolling down, looking for something that might be a hit for what they wanted.

"How do you even steal a cabin?" Caleb asked rhetorically, trying to figure the logic out on that bullshit. He kept listening though. "I'm not figuring there'll be anything, which of course is just weirder. There wasn't anything on the radio. I know it happened recently, because one of the cars was idling still when we got there."

"Crap, crap, crap," Dean said absently, scrolling through the links dismissively. "And I dunno - pick it up and carry it off? Fuck knows really," he said, clicking onto the next set of results and scanning his eyes down the page.

"Well if you can pick it up and carry it off it can't be that fucking big, can it?" Caleb asked. "The sign had some big picture of a log cabin on it, with some lumberjack motherfucker standing next to it. All sort of old cartoon-style and such." he added, even if that was useless information.

"Well, maybe an image serach might hel... Oh, hey - wait a minute," Dean said, by now a couple of hundred results into his search. He clicked on a link and waited for the page to load. "Caleb - I... think I might have found something," he said, sounding gently disturbed.

Caleb frowned and stilled, before sitting forward. "Okay...?" he prompted, since Dean didn't go on.

Dean read what was in front of him, sitting up and taking the phone in hand properly again. "Okay, this is... All I can find is this single page little website. Just... This girl. She's... Okay, this is what it says," Dean told him, before reading out the text. "'My name is Rose, I'm a college student in Ohio and that's where I live now - I guess. I'm looking for my family. I come from a small town called Big Cabin, Oklahoma. I left to go away to college - left behind my parents, Tom and Heidi and my little brother, Jake. I got a sports scholarship - we were really excited. I was the first person in my family to go to college. I'm only a freshman. But I got homesick so quickly. I called and my mom sent me the money to come home for a while. That was just two days before I travelled. But - when I got home, there was nobody there. At all. My family was gone. I don't know where to. I can't find them. Nobody's seen them. And it's not just them - the whole town's empty. Everyone's gone. Nobody seems to want to listen to me, I've tried telling people, but the next town's police force says it's out of their jurisdiction and I need to talk to the police in my town. But they aren't there. I can't get anyone to listen. I called the FBI and they said I was a prank caller. Nobody believes me. Does anyone have any information? Can anyone help me? I don't know what to do.'."

Caleb was quiet for a long moment. "...fuck." was about all he could say to that. That had to suck. Not usually given to over sentimentality or the like, even he had to feel for this random chick. Now he kind of wished he hadn't had Dean look, so he could pretend he hadn't heard that, and wasn't thinking about some random girl named Rose who was abruptly very lost in the world.

"There's an email - you want it?" Dean asked him, feeling very subdued right now. That had been eerie. Really, really eerie.

"...I don't know, what would I even say?" Caleb asked. "Hey, sorry to hear your life's been fucked over, I highly doubt you're going to find anything, go back to school and move on?" He shook his head. "...I don't know. Which is worse. Her sitting there calling out for help that she isn't ever going to get, or someone random contacting her to tell her fuck all besides I was there and believe her?" He paused, mind of course careening down the pathways of worst case scenario. "If whatever cleaned out the town finds that, she's probably toast."

"Then maybe that's what you should tell her," Dean suggested, bookmarking the page in case Caleb changed his mind later. "A warning of some description. Hell, at least she'd know there was someone out there who believed her - from the sounds of that, she could do with even that right now."

Caleb sighed heavily and groaned a little. He didn't need this bullshit right now. He had his brother to worry about, not some chick he'd never met who probably needed him contacting her like a hole in the head. It wasn't like he was a real people person, now was he? Internally, he sort of wrestled with himself, and didn't say anything.

Dean listened to the silence before throwing his friend a bone. "Well, you're in the middle of fucking Mexico, it's not like you have a computer anyway. I've got the page, I've got the address, if you want it sometime when you actual have email access, you know where I am, right?"

Latching onto that, Caleb was grateful for the out. "Alright. Yeah, I'll...right." he said. "I should probably get going though. Sorry to disturb then fuck off, but Math and I probably should get on making this area something resembling to our advantage, considering what's coming. If I don't contact you within a couple days, well...maybe you should email her yourself."

"Me? What am I gonna say? 'Hey, I know shit about your problems, but my mate passed through there and told me about it?' Not sure there's much in that - at least you've seen the place," Dean pointed out.

Caleb suppressed a little growl of frustration. "Yeah, but I might actually die, here, man, and you were the one who said maybe her just having someone who believes her would help." he said. "Anyways, do whatever, I'll try to get in touch soon enough if I'm still breathing. I plan to be, but...demons. They're a bitch."

"Okay, okay - I'll email her. Just - don't go getting yourself killed. And call me. Like, to let me know you're not bloody dead," Dean told him even though Caleb had said he would, trying in a guy way to hide the worry there. "When's this all likely to go down?"

"Dorian'll be here tomorrow. I'm guessing the lot after him'll show up shortly thereafter. So...I don't know. Don't panic if you don't hear from me for a day or so, but after that, I probably should have been able to get to a phone, and with the way me and Mathias tend to fight, I'm doubting there'll be anything resembling a long standoff or some bullshit like that. I'm guessing when it goes down it'll be big, bloody and messy. But, that shit also is generally 'fast', too. So...I don't know. Give me three days, after that...email Rose." ...he really shouldn't already be thinking about her like she was a girl with a name that he cared to remember. That was fucking brilliant.

"Whatever you want, mate. And three days," he agreed. God, somehow he knew those were going to be long three days. And if he hadn't heard from Caleb by the end of them, that party was going to be a write off. "Take care - stay safe," he said.

That acutally had Caleb chuckling a little. "I'll give it a shot." he said. But he was a half demon blood witch, who was about to pick a fight with some full blooded demons that wanted his brother's head on a stick, probably. 'Safe' was really a term that didn't apply anymore.

"You do that - see you around," Dean said, before hanging up. There was nothing else to be said, after all.

Caleb clicked his phone shut then pocketed it, leaning back on the car again, steadfastly not thinking about that girl. What the fuck was that about, anyways? She wasn't his responsibility. And he also wasn't thinking about what Leija thought. Or what Math thought. About him being a hunter, or having the right mentality for it. Fucking stupid people making themselves targets. He didn't need this bullshit. And anyways, someone else could take care of it, right? Whatever. He wasn't thinking about it. And he still wasn't thinking about it when he saw his brother pulling up, and he sat up, waiting for Math to get out and they could start talking about the situation that he did need to be thinking about, that he did need to be concentrating on and no one else was taking care of.

Mathias drove the car to the far side of the parking lot, away from everything. It was rather more dented than it had been when he'd dropped Caleb off, a few more rust spots, a nicely fractured back window. It'd taken Math a while to find someone in the town to make his car look like a piece of crap, but at least it now didn't stand out like a sore fucking thumb against all the other abandoned ones. He parked it at an angle and left the driver's door ajar as he walked towards his brother, bag on his shoulder.

"So, what's the score?" Caleb asked, as Math got within earshot. He noted the car now looked like shit, which meant it wasn't going to draw attention. He imagined that's what had taken so goddamn long. But he wasn't that impatient, either, his job had just been easier. Scope out the area and know what was in it. Which he'd done. Hoo fucking ray.

"There's a couple of good routes out of town," Mathias told him, spreading out a map of the town next to Caleb on the car. "Here and here are our best bets if we have the car. If not, then there's good rail links. Worst comes to the worst and we're on foot? I've plotted this route here, that keeps us in heavily populated areas, which should provide some cover." He pulled out a guidebook that had page marking throughout and handed it over. "The marked places I've checked out. Make sure you can find them easily without needing the map. There's three hotels in there - spread throughout the town. Each one has a room booked in the name of French - remember it. I've already set each room up with spare clothes, food, weapons and cash. This all goes according to plan, we're out of here, and there's nothing to link those rooms to us, but they're good bolt holes if the shit hits and we can't get out of town easily. As for Dorian, I've checked the timetable and there's a couple of trains he could be one, given the direction he's coming from. Both go along those tracks right there. I've scouted round the immediate vicinity and he was right - this is as good a place as any to make a stand if we need to. The warehouse is the only cover, which means that we have view over all approaches. I wouldn't want to have to stay here long term, but at least we'll be able to see what's after him if they're on his heels. Questions?" he asked, in case he'd missed anything out, or Caleb had another angle he hadn't considered. He wanted to be thorough here.

Caleb listened to all that, following along just fine. "The warehouse is a piece of shit. It isn't going to be anything resembling decent cover. There's holes eaten into the siding, and let's just say it's not structurally sound and leave it at that. With the last spell I wrote up--if it works--it'd go down fast. I figure we take out some of the lights in the parking lot, concentrate on the field and that. Or, at least, for me, considering. If we did get some of them inside the warehouse we could probably drop it on them, but I'd rather go for something more direct, I don't think that would do much but annoy them and look properly cinematic. Is Dor going to be any help when he gets here? He sounded like shit when I talked to him."

"Don't know - he's trying to rest. We'll have to see how far that gets him. Plus, we don't know the current state of his injuries. Hopefully he'll be some help, but we shouldn't plan on it - I don't want this whole thing falling through because we factored in an unknown. He turns up full force and ready, then it'll just make things easier," Mathias said, before turning to look at the warehouse, trusting Caleb's judgment on that. He'd've have time to look it over properly, after all. "Okay, so the warehouse is sit and not even enough for a convenient deathtrap," he surmised. "That's disappointing. And leaves us with the choice of setting up here with what we have, or spending the next twelve or so hours figuring out somewhere else. Most of which will be dark. If you're thinking elsewhere would be good, now's the time to say rather than fucking around trying to make the unworkable work and wasting time."

"Fine, we say he isn't going to be worth anything, I want a place to put him if he's that fucked up. Some fallback point he can get to that's properly defended." Caleb said first, thinking it over. "And fuck that noise, I'd rather do it here. I've been wandering around, know it pretty well, and figure that I'll have more than enough room to get anything coming at me. The only weak point in that is that if they have anyone with guns, I'm going to be an easy target. But...not a hell of a lot I can do about that." he said, shrugging.

Mathias considered this. "Okay - there's a maintenance shed about a quarter mile down that road. I checked it out - it's padlocked, but it looks like nobody's been there for a while. That might make a decent second line. We've got time to get in there and prep. Walls looked pretty solid from what I could see - enough that we'll have a hard fucking time getting into it, but that's not a bad thing. You need line of sight for your magic?" he asked, figuring the guy did, but he'd never actually asked and he'd rather know than assume.

"For most of it." Caleb said. "Or, it's helpful at least. It's not like a lot of it has that much aim per se, but I'm going to want to see. What are you saying here though, get Dorian there if he's too fucked up to fight? You want to watch after him because you don't want to put me in a small building, all I'd do is fuck up the structure and down that eventually. I have to be out in the open, regardless."

"Look, in all honesty, unless there's a chance these guys can be talked down, I'm going to be of limited use anyway. You want diplomacy? I'm your guy. You want someone to talk circles round a situation until the bad guys get flipped around to your point of view, yup not a problem. You want to get out of town fast and lose your tail - the whole escape and evasion scenario? Master at that. A situation where you actually have to stand and fight, possibly against greater odds? Not my forte. That's your ground, so I will do whatever you need me to and then I'll stay out of your way," Mathias said, seriously. "So tell me what you need and I'll arrange it."

"Fine, give me room. Give me room, give me darkness," he said, nodding up towards the lights in the parking lot. "You worry about Dorian. If Dorian's alright, then try some of what we pulled with the vamps. Get them in near, then don't be there when the spells hit. And, if you happen to see anyone with firearms? It'd be really cool if you could get that shit taken care of. I don't do so well ventilated. But other than that..." he shrugged. "Not a whole lot in the way of strategy besides the same stuff we did before, only this time we have Dorian to worry about too."

"If Dorian's alright, then his TK's going to be good against those firearms," Mathias pointed out. "Can't shoot what you don't have any more. But, if not - I should be able to get in there. Which reminds me. Where you planning on starting? Because if we're working it in the usual way, I'll be elsewhere. I want to be able to get to Dorian as soon as, but you'll be better a little back."

"I figure I'll be on this side of the field. The tracks are there, so...this side, you can get him clear, or do whatever the hell, and I can be nice and visible this way. I could stay just back far enough out of range, and the faster you get out of there the better, then I could move more into the center of the field, be a better target to draw them in and have a better visual on them coming." Caleb assessed, looking out over the area again.

"Okay," Mathias agreed. "That's plan A - plan B, if they're not two steps behind him?" he pushed. "Similar strategy, or are we going with something else?"

"Similar strategy, just you get to scout around, see if you can't lure them in where we want them faster, and it's the same shit different day that we did with the vamps, only we don't have to worry about the civilian population, and we have a nice big killing field." Caleb said. "And if Dorian's all good...I don't know. I know he carried a gun, and I know he's got tk but I don't know what he can do with that, if anything. ...beyond break windows when he's pissed off." Which was about all he'd really seen his brother do with that.

"Can't help you out too much there - I've never really seen Dorian go to town with his abilities. I know he has glamour skills as well, but mostly they were always just his party trick." They done a lot of partying together, but not that much actual fighting. "So, we'll have to see there. How much do you know about what we'll be facing?" Mathias asked his brother.

"Not that much." Caleb said. "I found out some before, but mostly it was that they were stupidly fucking resilient." he said. He didn't seem overly bothered by that concept. "So I know they won't be going down easy, but if I have that clear path, if I can hit them more than once before they get to me then I'm hoping I'll be okay."

Mathias set his bag down on top of the map and opened it up, taking out a series of filled water bottles - small ones, but there were a half dozen of them. "If you inherited mom's issue with holy water, now's the time to say," Mathias warned. "Fiends are particularly susceptible to anything blessed, though water itself isn't going to do a huge amount unless you force it down their throat. Should slow them down if they get too near though. Getting it in their eyes stings like a fucking bitch, or so I'm told." He set his gun down next to the water bottles. "I found a persuable priest to bless this for me as well. Angel would be better, but... I didn't have the time-" or inclination "-to track one down. So religious blessing will have to do. Unfortunately, it's just this clip, I don't have any reloads, so that's of limited use."

Caleb paused. "...honestly I have no fucking idea if I have any issues with holy water. I never really fucked around with it to find out. Guess we should test that, hmm?" he said. He reached out for one of the bottles, and uncapped one. "See here's where the blessed sprinkler system would come in handy." he said, sighing as he held his arm out, pushing his sleeve up to drip some of the water onto his scarred forearm. Which did fuck all but make him wet, so he recapped the bottle. "That settles that."

"Unfortunately, that holy-water-dissolving-skin Hollywood bullshit is just that - Hollywood bullshit. Doesn't work. Except on some vampires, but even then it doesn't kill them - just makes them a little less pretty for a while," Mathias said, sounding disappointed but resigned. "I don't know what effect blood magic has on fiends - you're right that they're meant to be a bitch to kill. But I've seen your shit and it seems to be destructive enough to rip through anything..."

"In theory." Caleb said. "Guess we'll find out. If I tear them up and they're still laying there, bleeding out, will this help usher them along to certain doom?" he asked. "Because other than what I've got going...and a few blessed bullets, we're kind of looking a bit strapped, bro." he said, sighing, and dragging his fingers through his hair. "But oh well, whatever, it's what we've got. By the way, if these things are that rough to kill, that probably means I'm going to be a little more fucked than usual. If I can't hurt them with my knife..." he trailed that off, knowing Mathias would be able to do the math there.

"It's that or we grab Dorian and we run," Mathias told him. They'd talked about this before, on the way down. They knew what that would mean. Mathias could get them out of there, he could get them gone, well enough that they'd lose whatever was gunning for Dorian. But they'd have to disappear. Which meant no chance of ever going back to Marquette, which meant more problems for them - though Mathias still hadn't told Caleb about the deal he'd made with Eris. So far he was playing it as if their not returning to Marquette was an issue only for Dorian and Caleb - because they had ties there. He was keeping silent on the reasons he needed to go back. And he was in no doubt that if he didn't go back, Eris would find him. Eventually.

"Yeah, and I still don't like that idea." Caleb said, shaking his head. "I don't like the idea of anyone out there still after any of us, and while I'm aware that's a mind blowing possibly laundry list of people who would like to see you bleeding, I'm ignoring that for now. I can deal with this though. I say we shut it down before it gets worse, just...deal and go home. Or whatever, maybe not immediately, just so we can be sure there isn't anything else coming, but running doesn't sit right with me." he said. "I just figured I'd let you know that I'm not going to be able to rely on the knife in this situation, at least not nearly as well as I can otherwise. I don't want you thinking I'm doing better than I will be." Because that could get them all killed. So--up front.

"I'll find you a couple of stray dogs, unless you're going all PETA on me," Mathias said, lightly. "We'll deal with it and then, yeah - I think losing ourselves for a few weeks is a good precaution. We'll also need to find out from Dorian what they know and whether what's following him is the boss or the minions. Also whether they know who he is and can trace him back to Marquette in the meantime."

Caleb nodded, not really worried about getting himself healed up so much as he was the main trouble brewing. "We'll talk to him when it's over." he said. "...might as well keep an eye on the polaroid, so you know when he's getting here, or narrow it down or whatever. How much time do we have?" he asked. He knew it was more time than he wanted. Now that they had shit locked down as to what they were doing he wanted to get it rolling.

"Not sure," Mathias admitted. "Day's tomorrow, but Dorian didn't say exactly what number train he's on - doubt he got time to look at a schedule. I've checked it out and talked to some people and I have it down to two trains - one's in around 11am, the other at 4pm. He could be on either one. We'll have to wait til he gets closer to be able to tell, but the polaroid should confirm it for us."

Caleb nodded. "Right." he said. Fuck. He was restless, but knew he should probably get some sleep before hell descended and everything. "...guess we should sleep, for a while." he said, not sounding terribly hopeful that that was possible, but it was practical.

"Yeah, we should - but let's use the rest of the daylight getting that shed open and prepped, okay?" Mathias said. They could get ready, then they could sleep. And then they could be up at dawn and get ready some more. Anything to ensure this went off without a hitch.